The Only Woman He Loved
by Coffee and sugar addict
Summary: Rowan goes to the human world to replenish his Glamour when he meets someone. The only problem is, his attempts to win her heart glance off her. Can he win her heart or will the only woman he loves be unaffected by the Winter Prince? (He's still alive and he and Ash have reconciled, it's been a few hundred yrs or so)
1. Chapter 1

**The Only Woman He Loved**

 **Chapter 1**

Rowan, son of Queen Mab, prince of the Winter Court, knew he was doomed when he saw her. In all fairness, it was his own fault. He hadn't seen her in months and finally, he couldn't stand being stuck in the Nevernever for even a second longer and he went to the human world. He found himself in the same town where he had first met her. Not even realizing what he was doing, he started walking around the town, going specifically to places where they had met. He shouldn't have done it, he knew that. He simply couldn't help it though. She was the only woman he had ever loved. And no matter how much he pretended his heart was frozen solid, when it came to her, he couldn't pretend. She accepted him for who he was, and even if he tried to pretend, she could see right through him. She had even when they first met.

1 year before (human world time)

Rowan cursed as he held his stomach, his hand covered in his own blood. The stupid human had had friends and iron. Lots of iron. Dizzy from the iron buildings surrounding him, Rowan hadn't been prepared and had been taken by surprise by a bunch of pathetic human boys. He had beaten them in the end, but one of them had knifed him and if there was anything that could hurt him, it was iron. He had stumbled into a park and sat down, resting his back against a tree.

Rowan loved going to the human world. It was necessary to recharge one's glamour from time to time and the best way to do that was to be around imaginative humans. Secondly, he had a reputation at court that he had built to protect himself, so to speak.

At first, there was a certain satisfaction in breaking the hearts of human girls. But, over time, it almost made him feel guilty, especially after watching how they wasted away. Loving and being loved by a fey was almost an addiction to humans, both male and female. After they were with a fey, falling in love with anyone else, especially another human was nearly if not downright impossible.

"Hey, are you alright?" a female voice laced with concern called out and he looked up to a girl in her teens walking over to him, her brown eyes drawing him in. "No, I'm fine." Rowan said coolly, failing to hold back a wince at the pain in his stomach and she knelt in front of him. She pulled her backpack off her shoulder and dug around in it. While she was distracted, Rowan looked her up and down. She had brown hair with golden streaks pulled back into a ponytail and bangs that flopped into her brown eyes. Freckles decorated her nose and cheeks, making her face even more interesting to look at. She was a blue jean jacket over a plain purple shirt and worn jeans. What amused him the most though, were her dark purple sneakers and how worn they were. "I'm Rachelle." She said, and he responded. "Rowan." He said tersely, and she nodded.

"Ha! Found it!" She said triumphantly, pulling out an unopened bottle of water and a small first-aid kit. "I told you I'm fine. Now beat it." Rowan snapped, and she ignored him. "Move your hands so I can see how bad the damage is." She commanded him, and he scowled at her. "I don't need your help, now leave me alone, annoying person!" he yelled, and she closed the first-aid kit and stuffed it and the water bottle back into her backpack. Rowan noticed that there were clothes stuffed hastily into the backpack and she kept glancing at her long sleeves. "Hey Rachelle! I finally found you, you bitch!" A male voice yelled, and she turned white. Rowan glanced behind her to see a teenage boy running towards them, his face scrunched up in fury. "Shit! I didn't expect him to find me so fast." She hissed. "I will help you if you can actually heal me." Rowan found himself saying and she nodded. Rowan slowly stood up, glancing up at the tree. It had a few low branches that were thick enough to support her. "I'll give you a leg up into the tree." She nodded, and he hoisted her up into the tree, watching in surprise as she continued climbing. "Hey, you! Where the fuck did she go?!" The guy ran up to him and yelled. Rowan frowned at the guy and wondered what he had done to make Rachelle so scared of him. "She who?" Rowan asked, cursing his inability to lie. The guy growled and ran off, cursing under his breath.

"You can come down now." Rowan said, turning to look up at her and she smiled down at him. For some odd reason, he smiled back, his heart beating faster. She started clambering down then stopped at the lowest branch and bit her lip, looking almost nervous. "I'll catch you." She looked at him for a moment and tilted her head, gauging him. Deciding she could trust him, she jumped down into his arms, Rowan catching her against his chest. He noticed that her eyes had golden flecks in them and her cheeks had turned pink slightly, her bangs hanging in her eyes.

She stepped back nervously, pulling her sleeves down. "What did he do to you?" Rowan almost felt protective of her and she looked up at him defiantly. "That's none of your business. Now sit down so I can look at your wound." He nodded and sat down, and she sat down in front of him, slinging her backpack off her shoulder and opening it to get the first-aid kit and a hairband. She pushed the hairband onto her head, pulling back her bangs so she could see clearly. Opening the first-aid kit, she pulled out a thing of tissues and the water bottle. She moved over next to him, but Rowan said, "Wouldn't it be easier if you just sat in front of me?" She paused and nodded.

Rowan watched as she bit onto her lip, hypnotizing him. She pulled out a few big bandages and gently put them over the now cleaned wound. "Haha! Ok Rowen, you're good." She smiled and sat back, looking proud of herself. Rowen took her hands and pulled Rachelle back to him. "Uhh Rowen? What are you doing?" She asked nervously as he tilted her chin up. "Thanking you." He had just pressed his lips to her when she shoved him away and stood up. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She snapped at him, glaring at him fiercely. It was at the moment that Rowen realized he wanted her. "All I did was help you out and you helped with a very slight problem. I don't know you, you don't me." She said coldly, and he stood up. Walking towards her, she backed up into a tree and he put his arms on either side of her. "What if I want to get to know you better?" He asked, relying on the methods he had used to woo women for years. "Are you drunk or just naturally idiotic?" She snapped. Huh? She was unaffected? Before he could say anything, she jerked her knee straight up and shoved him away from her, grabbing her backpack and running off. She didn't look back once at Rowan. Rowan realized as she ran away from him that this might be harder than he thought. He also realized he was in deeper shit than he thought he was.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Only Woman He Loved**

 **Chapter 2**

Rowan walked to the spot he and Meghan hung out at, on alert just from habit. He was right on the border between Iron and Winter, making it bearable for him. It had taken him years to realize just how insane he had been, even longer for him and his brothers to reconcile. Meghan was one of his closest friends now, maybe she could help him. "Rowan!" She yelled excitedly and hugged him, and Rowan relaxed. "I might need your help, Meghan." She stepped back and looked up into his eyes. Whatever she saw made her smile, "It's about time you found someone!" Wait, what? "You fell for someone, didn't you?" She asked, poking him. "How did you know?" He asked incredulously. "The look on your face. You're pining for her." Speechless, Rowan nodded, and her smile grew.

"So, what's her name?" Meghan asked as they drank coffee and Rowan's face heated. "Her name is Rachelle and she's… wow". Meghan watched with amusement and happiness as Rowan explained how they met. Meghan had always felt that Rowan was lonely, and she had seen a kind of lost look in his eyes when she and Ash were being coupley in front of him. Now seeing him so animated and so obviously happy, she was glad they had reconciled.

"Ok, according to one of my gremlins, she's reading in the park where you met, and she doesn't look like she's going anywhere soon." Meghan said and had to fight a laugh at the excited look on his face. "You rock, Meghan!" He yelled and started to run off, but she yelled his name and he paused and looked back at her. "Go easy on her, ok? She's been hurt before. I bet if you look at her arms, she'll have bruises there from that guy. Check though just in case." He nodded and ran off.

When Rowan saw Rachelle, his heart leapt, and he smiled at the small stack of books next to her, most of which are rather thick. A white cord trailed from her ears to her pocket and a commuter mug sat next to her. The second thing he noticed was that she was shivering, even though she was wearing a thick jacket. She reached for the mug next to her and took a sip from it, yelping as the hot liquid hit her mouth. She quickly set the mug down and rubbed her mouth, her eyes closing in pain. He noticed the same guy from a couple days ago walking towards her and she glanced up at the guy. Moving nearly as fast as a fey, she jumped up, grabbing her mug and books and running. The guy immediately ran after her, his legs catching up to her and grabbing her collar. "No, let go of me! Leave me alone!" She yelled, sounding like she was starting to cry, and Rowan saw red.

Rachelle was released suddenly and fell down, looking behind her. That same guy from a few days ago, the handsome stranger who had kissed her was beating up her ex. Brian was only nice around her family and friends and recently he had gotten even worse, going so far as to punch her. The reason he had punched her was because she had told him that she was breaking up with him. Ever since that day, he had been stalking her, trying to catch her and finish what he had started. She had even hidden out a friend's house those few days her parents were taking a trip. Her throat hurt from him grabbing onto her collar so hard. "Rowan, stop!" She yelled hoarsely, noticing that Brian was unresponsive. Terrified, she grabbed Rowan's shoulder and he spun around to look at her, pale blue eyes wild. "Rowan, it's ok." She said softly, rubbing her neck and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "Are you ok?" He murmured, kissing her temple and they walked away from the still unconscious Brian.

Rachelle sniffled against him and Rowen held her tighter and she wrapped her arms around him. She fit against him perfectly, and he kissed her temple again, noting with a small feeling of satisfaction that she was relaxing against him. She stepped back, and he let her go, even though he wanted to pull her back to him. "Thank you for helping me." She said quietly, rubbing her neck and Rowan noticed a red line. He took her hand from her neck and noticed a red line. "Rowan, it's fine." She said, and he put the tip of his finger to the red line, dragging it across and letting some of his Winter magic seep into the line. "That's cold!" She shivered, a look of astonishment on her face and he smiled slightly at her.

Rachelle hid her face in shame when Rowan saw the fading bruises on her arm and was thankful she had hidden the side of her face where Brian had punched her behind her hair. Lifting her hand to his face, Rowan kissed it and then kissed her bruises gently and she shivered at the sweet look he gave her. She didn't even know him that well, so why was he affecting her like this? Why hadn't she had been able to get him out of her mind these past couple of days?

Rachelle looked down and Rowan gently tilted her head back up, wiping away a tear that had trickled down her face without her knowledge. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back to him and kissed her soft mouth gently, unable to stop himself. He let his human Glamour dissolve and tightened his grip around her waist. Slowly, hesitantly, she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. Rowan wrapped both arms around her waist, deepening the kiss.

Rachelle somehow found the strength to push Rowan away from her, even though a part of her cried for him. This was bad. This was very very bad. She knew nothing about him and, yet they had just been kissing. Wait a minute, were his ears pointed? They hadn't been earlier, she was sure of it. She reached up, sliding her finger up the ear to the top of the point. "That is very sensitive, Rachelle." He practically growled and she looked at his face and wished she hadn't. Dear Lord, he was beautiful! His eyes, they were burning, and she hastily stepped back. She mentally shook herself and stood tall "whatever you're doing to me, stop it. Whatever game you're playing with me, stop it."

Rowan fought down the impulse to kiss her until they were both breathless and focused on her words and her eyes. She was scared but she wanted him. "Thank you for helping me again with him, but seriously, you need to stay away from me and leave me alone." She backed up another step and ran off. Rowan stood there for a moment, stunned. It was rare for a human to turn down a fey and especially him! In fact, it had never even happened to him before! Rejection was a strange feeling to him, and he didn't like it one bit.

2 weeks later

"Rowan? Are you OK?" Meghan asked her brother in-law and he looked up at her, pushing the long hair out of his face. He had stayed cooped up in his room now for 2 weeks. "She told me to stay away from her. Meghan, I love her." Meghan nearly cried seeing Rowan like this. He had come a long way from the cruel heartbreaker she had met. She turned to one of her gremlins. "Find out where the mortal girl Rowan loves lives." She commanded it and it scampered off, squeaking to its brethren.

When the gremlin came back a day letter and told her the address, Meghan went herself, Beau accompanying her. "Keep Rowan company? I'm worried about him." She asked Ash and he nodded, kissing her forehead gently. "Come back soon, ok?" He asked, and she nodded, kissing him gently. They had been married for a few hundred years now and she loved him so much, even more than when she had still been human. "He's freaking out like this because he loves her. Fey love recklessly and without abandon, never stopping to think. This is the first time he's actually been in love." Ash told her, and she made mental note.

Meghan knocked on the door of the small apartment and a teenage girl that fit Rowan's description answered, looking at her warily. "May I help you?" She asked politely, and Beau walked up to her, putting a paw on her knee. "Your dog is beautiful, may I?" She asked Meghan, the wariness fading from her eyes a bit. "Absolutely," Meghan smiled as she petted Beau, the wariness going away a little more. Then Meghan heard someone say "Rachelle? Is everything ok?" weakly from inside the house and Rachelle stood up quickly, a worried look on her face. "Can you give me a few minutes?" She asked Meghan and quickly closed the door. Meghan picked up the gremlin from her pocket. "Rayzz, get in there and make sure everything's ok." And Rayzz scampered in through an open window.

"Mother very sick, girl very sad and scared. Mother and just girl." Rayzz chattered at her and Meghan nodded, and he dove back into her pocket as Rachelle opened the door and closed it behind her. "What was that thing and why was it watching my mom and me? Who are you?" Rachelle snapped, fear and wariness in her eyes. "Rayzz, come out." She pulled him out of her pocket and Rachelle sat down hard on the ground. "He's a gremlin. My name is Meghan and I'm a friend of Rowan." Beau put his head down on Rachelle's lap and she pet him, her hand trembling slightly. "Are you like him too? With the pointy ears?" She asked, and Meghan shed her Glamour and Rachelle paled. "What are you?" Rachelle asked, more curiosity than fear in her voice. "I'm a faery. So is Rowan." Meghan watched as a flurry of emotions raced across Rachelle's face until she finally said "ok" and that was it. "So, why are you here?" Rachelle asked her, and Meghan looked down and petted Beau. This was going to be difficult.


	3. Chapter 3

The Only Woman He Loved

Chapter 3

"There isn't an easy way to say this, so I'm just going to be blunt." Meghan said to Rachelle. Meghan had finally identified the strange smell at her house. Sickness. When she had asked though, Rachelle had clenched her jaw, an almost painful look in her eyes and Meghan dropped it. "Rowan is pining for you. He loves you." Rachelle blinked once, twice, then turned red. Meghan could tell that Rachelle had the same feelings toward Rowan in that instant and then she hid her face in her face and started shaking. Meghan realized she was crying and wrapped her arms around her and Beau whined. "Hey, what is it? What's wrong?" Meghan asked softly, and Rachelle looked up, a fading bruise on her face and there was a knock on the door from the inside. Rachelle opened the door and smiled at a woman. Meghan noticed that the woman was very pale and that the smell of sickness was coming from her. "Hey mom, are you ok?" Rachelle asked, and took her mom's hand, closing the door behind her but not before Meghan heard Rachelle's mom ask her if her father was on his way home yet.

"You want to know what's wrong? My dad abandoned my mom and I. My mom is in the final stages of breast cancer and I'm working two jobs trying to pay the bills. I will admit it, I have feelings for Rowan. Do you honestly think he would still want me when he realizes everything I'm going through though? Guys don't like girls with baggage, they tend to freak out. The minute he realizes the shit that's going on in my life, he won't bother." Rachelle said miserably, and Meghan felt a stab of pity for this poor girl. Rayzz jumped onto Meghan's shoulder and whispered that Rowan was hiding a few feet away from them in her ear and Rachelle watched them quizzically. "How is it you can understand him, her?" She asked, her eyebrows scrunched up and Meghan wondered how she could be taking this so well. "He and it's because of my powers and who I am. I'm the Iron Queen, the leader of the Iron faeries." Meghan nearly laughed at the "huh?" look on Rachelle's face. "I've read about the fey, isn't Iron their greatest weakness? How can there be fey that are Iron?" Ooh, she was a smart one! "How can you be so calm about all this? Most people would be freaking out about this!" Meghan gestured at her pointed ears and Rachelle shrugged. "I've had an interesting week."

Beau raised his head and trotted over to a bush and seemed to be trying to pull someone out. "Beau, hey! Let go! Meghan, call off your dog!" Rowan yelled as Beau dragged him out from behind the bush by his sleeve and Rachelle covered her mouth and tried to hide her laughing, but failed. The aggravated look on Rowan's face softened when he looked at Rachelle and she turned red and looked down. When he took a step toward her though, Rachelle stood up quickly and took a step back. He opened his mouth and she jumped off the step and took off in the opposite direction. Rowan stood there for a second, stunned, then looked at Meghan, who nodded at him. He ran after her, gaining on her with each step.

" _Not good enough, not good enough, never good enough. Pathetic, worthless."_ The words circled in Rachelle's head as she ran, words that had been repeated to her so much that she now believed them to be true. It was only a matter of time before Rowan realized that too. A person that amazing deserved better than someone like her, someone so flawed. She felt someone take her hand and spin her into them and their arms went around her. Rowan. "No more running, please." He said in her ear, hugging her close to him and she shivered. "You deserve someone better than me." She said, and he kissed her forehead. "I'm the one who should be saying that, not you. You make me feel like I can be better than I am. I'm going to tell you something, Rachelle. Something I've never told anyone else." He drew back, and she looked up at him, and he braced himself. Were all humans this nervous when they confessed their love? "I love you, Rachelle. To be honest, I think I've loved you since that first moment I saw you." She said nothing but rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her lower back. When they parted, she said against his lips "I love you, Rowan. When I first saw you, I was hypnotized. But when you smiled at me, I knew I was in love with you." He kissed her back, one hand getting lost in her long hair. "No more running, I promise." She said to him and smiled at him.


	4. Chapter 4

The Only Woman He Loved

Chapter 4

Rowan was so happy, he was absolutely terrified. Nothing good happened to him without something worse happening. He was waiting outside Rachelle's class room while she finished her final exam. He had "helped" her study for her finals for the last couple of weeks, though how she had been able to study at all with him distracting her was a wonder. The worst time during her studying was when she had had a panic attack thanks to her upcoming math final, a subject she hated and knew she was bad at. The students started trickling out of the classroom, Rachelle among them. Rowan made himself visible and she shrieked and hugged him, her grin making the wait worth it. "I'm sorry I took so long." She said into his blue shirt and he tilted her chin up with his hand. "Believe me, it was worth the wait." He said and kissed her slowly and gently on the mouth. There were quite a wolf whistles and someone yelled "get a room, Rachelle!" Rowan broke the kiss and turned to face the worthless upstart that had DARED to say such things to the woman he loved. Rachelle saw the look on his face and grabbed his arm. "Rowan, don't. It isn't worth it, he's just a brain-dead idiot." She hissed at him and he glanced at her, his face starting to soften. She turned to look at the idiot and glared at him so fiercely, it made a drakon's snarl look pathetic by comparison. The idiot's face paled quickly and he took off running and she grinned up at Rowan. "He's also a coward." He stared at her for a second, shocked, then grinned back at her. "You, my lady, are a wonder." He took her hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it gently, watching in amusement as her cheeks turned pink. "Oh please, I'm no lady." He brought her other hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "You are to me." He said to her and she turned even pinker. "Would you two please stop flirting and get out of here already?!" Her math teacher said harshly, and Rachelle rolled her eyes. "Come on, I want to show you something anyway." Rowan said to her, kept hold of her hand and they walked out of her school.

Rowan gave her just enough time to drop her bag off at home and check on her mom before he opened a door to Faery. He knew that she loved books and couldn't wait to show her the library at the Winter castle. "I want to show you my world. Do you trust me?" He asked once they were in front of the door. "Of course" she answered immediately and took his hand. "Close your eyes, it's a surprise" he said, and she closed her eyes. He smiled at her and led her through the door.

He draped a thick cloak over her shoulders before the bitter cold hit her when they got to Faery. "Can I open my eyes?" She asked, and he said "yes" against her lips and quickly kissed her. She smiled at his antics and her jaw dropped as she looked around in amazement. "It's beautiful!" She said in an awed voice and it was as though he was seeing his "home" through new eyes. "Wait till you see the library." He grinned at the look on her face.

Rachelle nearly shrieked when she saw the library, covering her mouth just in time. It was so big, and they were so many books! She walked forward in a daze, inhaling in the wonderful book smell. He watched her as she smiled and relaxed for the first time in a while. He had offered to pay the bills for her, but she had refused, saying it was too much and that she was fine. He heard a shriek, but it wasn't a good one. He realized he had lost sight of her. He heard a yelp of pain followed by the sound of something skin. It had come from one of the side aisles and he ran there to find two fey holding Rachelle up on either side of her and three more in front of her. Her head was down, and her shirt was torn down the front and the side of her face was red. "Scream again for me, go on, I know you want to." The leader of the fey said and lifted her face. She looked terrified then her face turned defiant and she spit in the leader's face. He stared at her for a second then smiled and she shuddered. "We've got a fighter then. You've got a fire in you, why don't you try to burn me then?" He leered at her and reached for her. " . OF. MY. GIRLFRIEND." Rowan growled, and they looked up at him, the two guys on either side of her dropping her and she dropped to the cold stone floor, wrapped her arms around herself and stared at him. "Ah, Prince Rowan, join me. I found this delicious mortal running around the library. I'll be nice and share her with you." The leader looked down at her and licked his lips and Rowan saw red. When his gaze finally cleared, the fey who had dared to touch her were either dead or mortally wounded. He crouched down in front of Rachelle, who was shivering, and tears were rolling down her cheeks. "Rachelle, I am so sorry." To see her like this and to know he had brought her to such a dangerous place made him hate himself. She leaned her head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry out her terror.

Rowan dropped her off at home after he had wiped her tears and lent her his jacket when he saw the damage done to her jacket. He tenderly kissed her forehead. She said bye to him and smiled at him but the spark in her eyes was deadened.

Rowan stayed up all night and thought. Finally, he got a piece of paper and a pen and wrote "My dearest Rachelle, today's events made me realize how dangerous this is. You could get attacked and I may not be able to get there in time. You won't be seeing me again. I hope you meet someone else someday, someone who actually deserves you. I love you. -Rowan" He gently opened her window, and put the letter and a red rose on her night stand, kissing her gently on the forehead. He heard her mutter his name in her sleep and she reached for him, but he closed the window behind him.

The next morning Rachelle woke up and touched her forehead and looked around her small room, feeling confused. She felt like someone had just been here. She shrugged and turned the lampshade on her nightstand on. She noticed the letter and rose immediately and smiled as she smelled the rose. She opened the letter and her smile faded as she read. "Rachelle?" Her mom knocked on the door and opened it, holding a printed email. Her daughter looked over at her, tears streaming down her cheeks and she went to sit next to her on the bed and took the letter from her and read it. She had met Rowan and immediately approved it. She hugged Rachelle tightly as Rachelle sobbed her heart out. "Mom? What's the paper in your hand?" Stacey remembered the email she had printed out, the results from the last test. She had cried when she read it. "Mom?" Rachelle held her hand out for it and Stacey had to hand it to her. Rachelle read the paper once, twice, three times. Stacey and Rachelle hugged each other and cried, Rachelle saying through her tears "No, no, no, you can't go, please mommy, don't leave me!"


	5. Chapter 5

The Only Woman He Loved  
Chapter 5

Rowan was going nuts and Meghan and Ash were worried. It had been a year in the human world and Rowan hadn't been there since he dumped Rachelle, something he obviously regretted. The final straw came when Meghan accidentally walked into his room and saw dozens of drawings of Rachelle that Rowan had done. Rowan was curled up on his bed and Meghan put her foot down. "Ok, I've had enough of your moping. Go see her!" Meghan demanded and Rowan looked up at her.  
"She doesn't want to see me." He said miserably and she rolled her eyes.  
"Did she say that?" She asked and he gave her his full attention.  
"No…" He began and that was enough for Meghan.  
"Then how do you know she doesn't want to see you?! Get up, take a shower for crying out loud, get dressed and go see her!" Meghan was annoyed enough to throw him in the shower herself and he must have seen it in her face because he started to get up.  
"But…" he started to say and she took a step toward him and he jumped up. "Ok, ok, ok, I'm going!" He said quickly and she nodded and left his room.

Rowan looked around at the human world and smiled. He had missed it and it felt good to be back. He saw a girl with short brown hair walking from the library, almost gray with exhaustion, and frowned. There was something familiar about her… As if sensing his eyes on her, she turned to look at him and he jumped. It was Rachelle! He started to smile at her then stopped when she glared at him, pointedly looked away from him and continued on her way. For a moment, he stood frozen, unsure what to do. Then he unfroze, ran to her, and grabbed her arm. "Rachelle, I…" he started to say but she jerked her arm out of his hand and almost fell over.  
"Leave me alone. Haven't you hurt me enough by now?!" She glared at him, her voice hoarse. She looked away from him and clenched the strap of her bag tightly.  
"I missed you though." He said weakly and she laughed harshly.  
"You missed me?! Considering you're the one who left, I don't think you have the right to say that. I think the truth is that you got bored with me and you came back to see if you could play with my emotions again!" She shouted, starting to lose control of the pain and anger that had held her captive for the past year.  
"How could you say that? How could you even think that?! I told you that I loved you and faeries can't lie!" he yelled back and her eyes opened wide and for a moment, he saw the girl he had fallen for. He took a step to her, arms held out and she backed up quickly.  
"No. I can't. I can't do this right now." She said quietly and looked down. "Please just leave me alone." She whispered and ran away. He stared after her and sank to his knees, crying. Little did he know that he wasn't the only one who was hurting.

Rachelle slammed the door of her apartment shut and slammed a fist into the door hard, shaking. She wasn't crying, no, she hadn't been able to cry since she buried her mom only a few months after Rowan had left. Since then, she had started college and continued working two jobs, even getting her own apartment. To continue living at her old house had caused her too much pain and she had moved out as soon as she could. Seeing him now, after such a horrible year, had been like reopening a wound that had never fully healed in the first place. She took a few moments to calm down and turn to her homework. She had two essays to write and a mountain of foreign language homework to work on. She sat on her bed to work on her homework but memories of him kept popping up in her mind and she finally shoved her homework away after an hour, unable to concentrate. "I have to see him again, if only to get answers from him. Maybe if I see him one more time, I can get over it." She thought aloud to herself and stood up. She shoved her keys into her pocket and left her apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her.

Rowan was sitting in the park where they had first met when he looked up and saw her walking towards him. "I should have known I would find you here." She said and sat down next to him, ignoring his confused look. They sat for a few moments in silence with him glancing at her every few seconds, unsure of what to say. "I wanted to hear you say why you left, rather than reading it off a piece of paper." She finally said and he looked at her in surprise.  
"I left because I was scared of you getting hurt like you had that day I took you to that library." She winced slightly as he said that and he knew she remembered.  
"I was never scared of you hurting me. You may not have realized it, but you made my life a hell of a lot better when you were here. I was happy and I thought you were too. Maybe that was selfish of me." she said and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.  
"I was happy and I did miss you. I shouldn't have left you and I'm so sorry, baby." He said and she buried her face in his shirt and started to cry. He held her close and wiped her tears when they subsided and she smiled at him gently.  
"I was happy too and I feel better then I have in a while. I missed you too." She said softly and he kissed her forehead, noting with amusement that he could still make her blush.

They walked back to her apartment and he made dinner for her as she did her homework, brushing off her repeated attempts to tell him that he didn't have to. He had a lot to make up for, he had realized and he was determined to make up for all the time they had lost because of his foolishness.


End file.
